In tight vote, Los Rios sends billion-dollar bond measure to voters in November
It is now up to the voters in Sacramento and Yolo counties. This November, they will decide if providing the Los Rios Community College District with a billion-dollar pot of money to upgrade its facilities is worth an increase in their property taxes.
At a meeting Wednesday night, the seven-member board of trustees voted 5-2 to send a staff-recommended $1.1 billion bond measure to the ballot. For more than two years, district leadership has worked towards this measure with the goal of addressing facilities needs that it says add up to more than $3 billion. This includes modernizing aging classrooms, replacing outdated systems and upgrading student spaces, and comes at a time when the district’s well of previous bond money from measures passed in 2002 and 2008 is running dry.
But the board’s green light came only after an hour and a half of deep discussion on the subject. Trustees raised several concerns, including the lack of a statewide bond measure on the November ballot that could otherwise have been leveraged to secure matching state funds.
Trustee John Knight drew attention to the timing of the proposal. Chancellor Torence Powell assumed his new role only a week ago ad Knight worried the task of campaigning for a billion-dollar bond in his first few months on the job would not set him up for success. Trustee Robert Jones renewed his worries that the creation of a subdivision of only the Sacramento and Yolo County portions of the district in April excluded conservative voters in El Dorado County who would likely to vote against the bond measure. District staff, meanwhile, argued that most of Los Rios’ facilities were located in the Sacramento and Yolo region and it did not want to ask taxpayers in other counties to pay for buildings that were so far from them.
Finally, after a faculty member spoke in public comment about concerns over students’ health as a result of aging facilities, the majority of the board decided that it needed the bond money to be prepared for emergencies and that the decision was best left to voters. All trustees except Jones and Knight voted in favor of placing the measure on the November ballot. The measure needed support from two-thirds of the board — that is five of seven trustees — meaning it barely scraped by.
“I don’t mind taking a political risk — it is the right thing to do because our students need this and our district needs this,” said Board President Deborah Ortiz. “All campaigns are calculated risks and there’s no shame if we go to ballot and lose. I don’t know how we could not serve our students. We have an obligation to do so.”
How do bond measures work? How will it affect me?
A bond is a method of borrowing used by community college districts to fund capital improvement projects, such as repairing buildings or constructing new infrastructure.
The principal and interest on bonds are repaid by local property owners through a hike in property taxes over several years. It is estimated that the measure will annually add $16.55 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value to local homeowners’ tax bill. The tax is expected to expire in 2051, with the total cost of repaying the debt, including interest, amounting to approximately $1.79 billion.
Since the district’s previous debt obligations from bonds it passed in 2002 and 2008 are nearly complete, district staff said the net impact for local property owners would not be a hike in their property tax bills but instead an extension of the Los Rios line item that they have already been paying.
What exactly will the district do with the money?
In an extensive list in the full text of the bond measure, the district laid out the facilities projects that proceeds from the bond could fund. This includes repairing leaky roofs, providing clean drinking water and improving security infrastructure at each of its campuses.
For American River College specifically, the project list includes constructing new STEM, science and fine arts facilities and building a replacement for Davies Hall after it was shut down suddenly in 2023. A hub for humanities instruction, Davies Hall was closed after state authorities concluded it was vulnerable to damage in the event of an earthquake.
At Cosumnes River College, the project list includes constructing a new technology building and childcare center, expanding the stadium and building an affordable student housing project. For Folsom Lake College, the proposed bond proceeds could be spent on constructing a cultural center and expanding the athletic complex.
At Sacramento City College, the project list includes constructing or renovating facilities for music, theater and physical fitness, among other things. The district offices may also receive upgrades under the proposed bond.
What happens next?
Now that the board has opted to send the proposed $1.1 billion bond measure to the November ballot, the district will file its resolution with the county elections offices by Aug. 7.
Following that, the measure will move through the same process as other qualified ballot initiatives. The district will form a campaign committee and raise thousands of dollars to support its measure. Supporters and opponents will submit arguments in favor or against it. Counsel for the affected counties will post impartial analyses.
And on Nov. 3, voters will vote yes or no to decide the fate of the bond. It will need 55% of voters on its side in order to pass, a threshold that a $650 million bond the district placed on the ballot in 2020 could not achieve. Based on polling data conducted by an external firm, Los Rios Vice Chancellor Mario Rodriguez said the district has a fair shot at getting the bond approved this time.
